Cape Fear (1962)

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's hard to feel too freaked out by this movie now, but the actors........everyman Gregory Peck and the ultimate scumbag Robert Mitchum are so compelling. This movie is so effective because of the implied actions. I'm glad we have film where the worst actions aren't seen on screen but suggested by the writers. Top notch thriller for it's day and still relevant today.........

The film could easily have been entitled "Harassment." Robert Mitchum steals the show with his cynical portrayal of a man felt that he had been wronged and therefore sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. Upon his release, he begins his harassment of attorney Gregory Peck and Peck's family.The film does bring out the frustration of the justice system in being able to deal with Mitchum's harassment, as it is methodical and for the most part, he is not breaking any law until the violence erupts much later in the film.The usual Gregory Peck is not there. His performance lacked the emotional depth required by a man receiving such torment and yet unable to do something about it. Polly Bergen was terribly miscast as his wife. The emotions shown by her with the exception of the scene where she is attacked is greatly lacking.The ending about turning the tables so that Mitchum should suffer in prison was rewarding.

I have seen the 1991 remake of this on a number of occasions and so was interested to see how it fared against the original. Whilst not as violent or glossy as the remake this is a superior film due mainly to the acting ability of the cast. Robert Mitchum was a superb actor and genuinely chilling in this as the psychopathic Max Cady who wages war on the man who sent him down. Gregory Peck is a bit wooden but Polly Bergen is good as the mom and I preferred the more vulnerable Lori Martin to Juliette Lewis's 1991 version of the daughter. It's even got Terry Savalas in it for good measure. It is pretty much the same plot as the remake so you will know what's coming but this still manages to be an entertaining and tense ride from start to finish.

Any overview of Cape Fear invariably brings comparisons to the '91 Scorsese remake. While Scorsese perhaps made a more engrossing and colourful adaptation, the '62 original remains tighter and more effortlessly chilling in its execution. Robert Mitchum was the original Max Cady before De Niro, a ruthlessly intelligent, sadistic felon who pursues Sam Bowden and his all-American family relentlessly. While De Niro in the remake felt more like an slasher movie villain, seemingly unstoppable in his almost supernatural pursuit of the Bowdens like a Michael Myers on steroids, here Mitchum's Cady is more akin to a weasel. He has the ability to squirm his way through every attempt to stop him within the confines of the law, using his knowledge of the system to harass Bowden without ever physically laying a finger on him. Some critics say that the remake covered up some plot discrepancies, by turning Bowden into Cady's lawyer, rather than just the witness that was Gregory Peck's character. But I for one find the notion of a phsycopath like Cady pursuing those he felt has wronged him in such an arbitrary fashion to be much more terrifying. It shows more how woefully unlucky Bowden was to wander into Cady's path, being picked out as a victim to pay undue penance for helping to put Cady away. Max Cady in this version is a hypnotic, soft-talking, but thoroughly unreasonable monster. Much more so than De Niro's. Perhaps it is a case of apples and oranges. Are there faults with Cape Fear? Perhaps, but only as a product of its time. Gregory Peck feels like little more than a rerun of his role as Atticus Finch, and the predictable scenario of the child in danger is a well worn plot device. However, the film more than makes up for any shortcomings with a gripping and suspenseful climax in the swamp of Cape Fear, with silent black and white figures grappling in the dark, muddy waters. The inevitable confrontation between Mrs. Bowden and Cady is a fine slice of close contact acting. Watch Cape Fear mainly to see one of the greatest villains to grace the screen. The scene of Mitchum slithering into the water like a reptile full of evil intent is worth the price of admission alone, whatever that may be.